Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves plan to strike Syria

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on Wednesday to approve President Barack Obama's plan to strike Syria in retaliation for the reported use of chemical weapons by leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

A committee vote on Wednesday afternoon ended with the
advancement of a bill compelling the US military responds to
Assad’s regime, and will next go to the full Senate for debate.

The committee voted 10-to-7 in favor of using military force,
with one lawmakers voting only “present.”

Should Congress move to approve the president’s request, the US
could soon initiate a limited strike on Syria that is meant to
reprimand Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons on August
21 outside the city of Damascus. The Obama administration says
more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of women and children,
were killed in that assault.

Wednesday’s vote came only one day after the committee grilled
Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey about the
administration’s plans for Syria.

The president and leading members of his cabinet have made
repeated pleas in recent days for Congress to approve action
against Assad that would be limited in scope and meant to
reprimand the Syrian leader and degrade his ability to further
use chemical weapons.

Following a swell in criticism, Obama said over the weekend that
he would ask Congress to approve a strike instead of pursuing
other routes to authorize a strike. According to the president,
Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons constituted a dissolution
of international norms that warranted a response from the US.

Obama and Kerry have both vocalized the administration’s intent
to prohibit any America boots from touching Syrian soil. Critics
of the plan, however, have opposed any endeavor in which the US
intervenes in an external conflict that they say doesn’t involve
domestic concerns.

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), initially a by-and-large supporter
of the president’s plan in Syria, announced earlier this week
that he had reservations about a resolution which would limit US
involvement overseas to fewer than 90 days. On Wednesday,
however, he threw his weight behind the committee’s updated plan
upon conclusion of an amendment he authored calling for any US
action in Syria to “reverse” Assad’s momentum on the battlefield.
On his part, though, Sec. Kerry has insisted that the Obama
administration—while indeed interested in removing Assad from
office—has not inkling to become involved in the Syrian civil
war.

“I don’t want to make this debate about what’s happening in
terms of regime change and the larger issues,” Kerry said
during a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Next, the full Senate is expected to vote on a potential strike
on Syria as early as next week.